Tom Cruise taking flight in Top Gun 2

Tom Cruise has confirmed longrunning rumours he's flying back to the big screen for a sequel to 1986 aviation classic Top Gun.

Plans for a follow-up to the hit film began to take shape last year (10) when Tony Scott revealed he was returning to the franchise to direct a new installment, while the Hollywood actor was rumoured to be interested in reprising his role as pilot Maverick, albeit in a smaller part.

But Tom Cruise has now revealed he's officially on board the project.

When asked about Top Gun 2, the star tells MTV News, "We're working on it.

"I said to Tony I want to make another movie with him. He and I haven't made a film since Days of Thunder (in 1990). We never thought that we would do it again. Then, they started to come to us with these ideas of where it is now. I thought, 'Wow... what we could do now...'"

Tom Cruise insists the film is still in the early stages of production, but he's hopeful their plans will take flight: "I hope we can figure this out to go do it again. If we can find a story that we all want to do, we all want to make a film that is in the same kind of tone as the other one and shoot it in the same way as we shot Top Gun."

If Top Gun 2 gets the go-ahead, it won't be the only franchise Tom Cruise will be involved in - he's also preparing to release the new Mission: Impossible installment, titled Ghost Protocol.